


Reluctant Starts and Big Ass Hearts

by Plandai



Series: 2018 One Phanfic Every Day Until Christmas Challenge [8]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Domestic, Fluff, M/M, Mentions of Anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 07:33:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16929117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Plandai/pseuds/Plandai
Summary: Its Dan and Phil'd daughters first day at school and she isn't looking forward to it. How do they cope?





	Reluctant Starts and Big Ass Hearts

Gracie’s first day of school was fast approaching, and neither Dan nor Phil were truly ready for it. The little ball of energy and chaos had been in their lives for just over four years, but today was going to be the first day where she was properly separated from them. It was going to be nice, having some time to themselves, but at the same time, they would miss their little girl, probably more than they were willing to admit. It seemed unfair that just as she was beginning to become a little more manageable, they would have to send her away for eight hours each day.

Dan had made quite a deal of buying her he school uniform and bag. He’d even thrown in a maths set, even though she wouldn’t be able to use it properly for a good while yet. Her school shoes were lined up neatly next to her parents, looking completely tiny in comparison, and her coat was hung up on the coat rack. Her uniform was neatly folded on top of her dresser ready for the next day, and her bag was in the kitchen, awaiting a packed lunch. Now all that was left was for Gracie to actually get ready in the morning and head off to the school.

Dan sank down onto the sofa next to Phil with a sigh, having just put Gracie to bed. The four-year-old was currently very averse to taking baths and had fought a great deal before finally letting her Dad wash her hair. Then she had refused to get into her pyjamas and demanded an entire book be read to her before bed. He may have spoken a little soon earlier when he said she was getting easier. At least he could have a bit of a rest now. A film was playing on TV and he leant into Phil, relaxing in the warmth of his husband. He was close to falling asleep, Phil gently stroking his hair, when there was a timid knock on the door.

He frowned and looked open to the doorway where Gracie was standing, clutching onto her little-stuffed lion,

“What’s wrong sweetheart?” Phil said gently, becoming the little girl over. Gracie eagerly ran forward and clambered into his lap, wrapping her arms around him and burying her head in his chest,

“Don’t want to go to school,” she replied quietly, tightening her grip on Phil. Phil sighed heavily and brought his daughter into a comforting embrace.

It wasn’t like grace to be like this. Usually, she was a confident very confident little girl, she loved new things. Then again this was a very big new thing, and she wouldn’t be able to do it with her parents as she was used to. That’s probably why she was acting up earlier, although she had always tended to be a little attention seeking. They should have got her used to being away from them, to make it less of a shock. Most parents had to do that anyway when they went off to work, but both Dan and Phil worked from home, so there had never been any need to do that. The closest there had been was when she stayed at her grandmas and Grandads' house for the day while they needed to leave for an import meeting. Otherwise, there was always at least one of them around.

“Don’t worry about school,” Phil whispered, “It will be fun. Think of all the new friends you’ll make,”

She shook her head and started to cry,

“Don’t want any new friends,” she said in between sobs, “Want to stay here,”

 

Phil looked at Dan helplessly. The younger man shrugged, unsure of how to deal with this and bit his lip. Unfortunately, their daughter had taken after the both of them in being a complete introvert. She was confident and independent, but she liked doing things on her own. Even when they had taken her to a baby group, she had never gotten along with any children her own age. They were hoping school was going to change that. Unfortunately, she didn’t seem to see it that way.

“I’m sorry sweetie, you have to go to school tomorrow,” this only brought on a fresh set of tears. Phil shushed her softly and took her hand in his,

“It will be fine Gracie,” he said sternly, although his voice still held a comforting tone, “You have nothing to worry about,” she stopped crying but continued to sniff, and looked over to Dan for reassurance. Dan smiled,

“There will be toys for you to play with, a big playground, and lots of nice books to read,” Dan said, pulling her onto his own lap,

“Now how about we get you back up to bed. We can’t be having you all tired and grouchy in the morning,”

Gracie nodded but made grabby hands towards Phil when Dan stood up with her in his arms. Phil heaved himself off the couch and took Gracie, so they could all head off to her room. They tucked her in and kissed her goodnight, Dan staying behind to make sure she actually fell asleep this time. When they finally got back downstairs, neither of them felt quite right. They hated the fact that their daughter was frightened about something, but everyone had to go to school,

“We could have home-schooled her,” Dan muttered, seeming to sense what Phil was thinking. Phil laughed,

“I don’t think that would be a good idea sweetheart,” he said fondly, “She would grow up the most antisocial child on the planet,”

Dan smiled and nodded in agreement,

Yeah. I think she’ll like school, just maybe not being away from us for so long,” Phil grinned,

“It’s not even an entire day,” he said softly, earning a shrug in response,

“Yeah, but admit it, you’ll miss her too,” Phil reached over and squeezed his hand tightly. A few hours later they set their alarms and went to bed. It took Dan a while to get to sleep, but with Phil’s arm wrapped firmly around his waist, it wasn’t too difficult.

Phil was the first to wake up in the morning, hopping straight out of bed when the alarm sounded. Dan, however, spent the first five minutes in a dreamy haze, his legs refusing to cooperate with his brain. When he remembered what today was, he managed to will himself back into consciousness and joined Phil. Gracie wasn’t used to getting up this early and was frowning heavily into the bowl of cereal her Dan had put out for her. Phil was busy making some sandwiches to put into her lunchbox, so Dan took it upon himself to hurry the little girl along. They needed to be there in plenty of time on her first day, although sending her off with a quick wave instead of dragging it out would probably be beneficial for both parents and child.

Finally, she was sat on the stairs with her coat on, giving Dan devil eyes as he fastened up her shoes. Phil emerged from the kitchen holding out her back, which she hesitantly took. Dan stopped her just as she walked out of the door to take a quick picture, and then they all got into the car. Really only one of them should have gone, but both wanted to see her off and it was her first day Afterall. She was very quiet on the way there, answering any question that was thrown that way with a simple shrug or nod. She definitely wasn’t her usual chatty self at all.

When they arrived, she had to be dragged out of the car, and stood by the side of the road sulking as Phil attempted to get her backpack on her back,

“I want to go home,” she said finally, stamping her foot and reaching over to cling onto Dan's leg. Dan sighed,

“You can cling onto me all you want, you still have to go in,” she let go of him and crossed her arms with a huff, before walking over to Phil and grabbing him. She was a smart kid, she knew Phil was a lot more likely to give in than Dan was. Phil, however, took a deep breath and pulled her forwards,

“You heard what your Dad said,” he replied. Gracie rolled her eyes,

“You are my Dad,” she said sassily, which was rewarded with a slightly disapproving look of both parents. She was bound to end up being a little sassy, living with Dan and all, but four was a little early to start.

After another short argument, they managed to get Gracie into the playground, where several students were running around in their green school jumpers, while others stood huddled next to their parents, parent or carer. The school they had chosen for her was relatively small, with only one class per year and quite small sized classes. They thought it would be better for her to go to a school where there wouldn’t be too many people. There were two large sports fields at the back, a rare thing in London, and a small woodland area.

Suddenly some of the teachers emerged from the building and the older students began to line up in front of them. A kind looking lady emerged and called for the new reception students to step forwards. A few ran straight over but others, like Gracie, needed a little encouragement. She turned her back to the group that had gathered in front of her, pretending not to see them as though that would make them go away. Dan turned her back around and gently pushed her forward, ignoring the attempt she made to hide behind her parents’ legs.

The teacher walked forward and kindly offered to her hand. Gracie looked at her parents uneasily, but seeing them gesture for her to go, took it gingerly,

“Don’t worry sweetheart,” Phil called after her, “We’ll see you at the end of the day, be good, have fun,”

It was sort of painful seeing her leave with the rest of the class, casting a final look at her parents before being escorted inside. Dan groaned quietly, she was going to fucking primary school, not prison. He turned to Phil and shook himself to try and forget his worries. Gracie would be fine, and they would be picking her up in a short while anyway. Phil sensed his nervousness and placed his hand on his husband’s shoulder,

“Come on Dan, let's go home,” he said with a grin, “We have a whole seven hours to ourselves,” Dan raised an eyebrow at his husband, who then looked very sheepish,

“Also, I totally forgot to feed Thor this morning and he’s going to be awfully mad at us,” Dan rolled his eyes,

“He’s a corgi Phil,” Phil only shrugged,

“Either way, I think its best we leave. We’ll look weird just standing in the playground of a primary school with no child,”

Dan’s eyes widened and they both hurried off to the car. It wouldn’t b like they’d be gone for that long anyway.

 

 


End file.
